Introductions
by friendofkara
Summary: In which Alex takes steps to ensure Kara has a peaceful introduction to Hank and the DEO. Chapter 4: Dr. Eliza Danvers meets Supergirl.
1. Hank Henshaw Meets Supergirl

Introductions

 _In which Kara meets her sister's boss for the first time._

Getting off the floating plane was easy. Alex had been one row away from the overwing exit and she made sure the raft was properly deployed before she got in it. She moved as far away from the wing as she could to make room for other passengers and sat down. While she waited for the oncoming ferry, she had plenty of time to think.

An hour later, after more time to think, she was back on shore at the ferry terminal. She called a cab and went home.

Once she had shut the door of her apartment, she called the watch desk at the DEO. Vasquez, the agent on duty was surprised to hear from her.

"Hey Danvers, what's up, you're not supposed to use your cell phone on planes."

"I'm not on the plane. It lost two engines and crashed in the bay. I'm back in my apartment. I'll book the next flight to Geneva. It's a good thing I gave myself the extra day."

"Was that your plane? Then get back here quickly. That plane had some unusual help."

"What do you mean?"

"There are reports and pictures of a woman who flew up to the plane while it was losing altitude, held up its' wing, then flew under it and raised it up. And the pilots are saying that something caused the plane to stop losing height and changed its course. A good thing, too, or the plane would have crashed into the Otto Binder bridge. Then after the plane landed in the bay, the woman climbed up onto the wing, stood up and flew away. Maybe Superman's California cousin has finally decided to step up to the plate."

"Superman's California cousin?" Alex asked faintly.

"Oh right, you're new here. You wouldn't know," said Vasquez.

"Three years is not new."

"This goes back eleven years. I think it's just me and the Director who were here then."

"So what's Superman's California cousin all about anyway?"

And Vasquez told her.

"Shit!" thought Alex. Aloud she said, "Look, that plane landing was a big bump. I've got to stop by the hospital and get checked out before I drive anywhere, but I'll be out there as quick as I can. Maybe two hours or so."

Alex did not book the next flight to Geneva. Nor did she go to the hospital. Instead, she went to her sister's apartment. Her discussion with Kara was short, and from Alex's viewpoint, highly unsatisfactory.

When she got to the base, Hank, her boss was waiting. "Good to see you. I'm glad you're still with us."

"It was a bit of a scare."

"Did you see her?"

"You mean the mystery flying woman that Vasquez mentioned? Yes, I did. I had a window seat on that side of the plane."

Hank put up a hand to stop her, "Let's take this to my office."

When they got to Hank's office, he shut the door and gestured Alex to take a chair.

"What did she look like?"

"I didn't see much of her, she only tried to hold up the wing for a few seconds before she went somewhere else because the angle of descent leveled out. And when she tried to hold up the wing, her arms mostly blocked her face. But she had long brown or darker colored hair and she was wearing a black colored long sleeved top and black jeans. But Vasquez said this might be Superman's California cousin; I didn't know he had one."

"Shit!" Hank Henshaw thought to himself.

"How much did Vasquez tell you?" he asked.

"Just that three weeks before Fort Rozz touched down, Superman was spotted leaving the landing site of another, much smaller spacecraft. But he was almost out of sight before we got there and the spacecraft, now our star exhibit, didn't have anybody in it when we arrived. Also, that there was something about that craft that made it easier to track Superman when he flew away and that they tracked him to Midvale, which they wouldn't have been able to do normally. Finally, when Superman arrived at the Fort Rozz touchdown site after being delayed by a tornado in Arkansas, and he was asked about the earlier incident he said nothing more than a 'You don't have to worry about it.' The obvious question for speculation is: 'what did he take to Midvale?' and the obvious answer is that the pod was Kryptonian and there was somebody inside who Superman tried to hide for some reason, hence the name Superman's California cousin for the possibility. Am I right? Because if I am, I'm trying to think of any newcomers to Midvale at that time, who stood out in any way and I can't think of anybody."

"Double shit!" Henshaw thought. "Yes you're right as far as you go, but there's a little bit more to the story. The department assigned a couple of agents to go to Midvale and put the town under a microscope. I was one of them. We looked for newcomers and focused our attention on everyone who had newly arrived in town no matter how young or how old they were. We traced all the new arrivals back to their previous locations and checked out their lives and everybody checked out. Except for one young girl. So we staked out her house."

Alex went totally still and she looked at him intently. Her boss looked her full in the face. She noted the compassion in his eyes, and waited.

"And one night we caught a break. I was on the stakeout when I saw two young girls flying overhead, back toward the house. They landed on the roof and went in. I managed to get a picture of the flying girls with my infra-red camera, which I still have. I don't think I have to tell you anymore do I?"

"I would like to see that picture," said Alex.

Hank reached into his pocket and handed it to her. Both faces were recognizable.

Alex looked, and her shoulders slumped. "So that's what you meant back when you met me in jail when you said you knew about my sister."

"Yes, that's right. But the real question is this: what's your sister going to do now? Is this a one-time thing or is she going to come out of the closet as Superman 2? If the former, we don't need to do anything, if the latter, we need to talk with her, the sooner the better. Have you talked to her since you got back on the ground?"

"I have, and we need to talk to her." Alex said "But before you follow our usual hostile Kryptonian arrest protocol of taking our target out with a Kryptonite dart and bringing her here as a prisoner, I have an alternative suggestion. I wouldn't suggest this with any other alien, but I've known Kara for more than ten years. Alien she may be, but hostile she is not. She's also smart, a clear thinker and responsible. And if she's not hostile now, what do we gain if we make her hostile by treating her as if she is? Handled right she could be a tremendous asset for us. Imagine the resource Superman would be if he gave his full cooperation to the DEO."

Hank thought for a moment. "OK, Agent Danvers, what's your plan?"

"We play good cop, bad cop with a side helping of me playing the protective sister."

"And the details?"

Alex told him.

"You didn't think this up on the spur of the moment," Hank said.

"I've been thinking of nothing else since I saw her holding up that wing."

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It was on getting towards quitting time at CatCo Worldwide Media and Kara Danvers was beginning to relax. Not that she ever could fully relax at work. Her boss, the notorious Cat Grant, the company's CEO, was quite capable of giving her three or more complicated and difficult tasks late in the day and telling her to complete them before leaving. But today, her boss had been totally focused on the story of the flying mystery woman who had saved flight 237 and left it bobbing in the bay. After sending her reporters out to find the missing superhero, Cat had basically left Kara alone for the rest of the day, except for periodically sending her to the City desk editors for any updates. But the mystery woman had disappeared, at least so far.

Kara hoped that state of affairs would long continue. Although she was determined to continue to use her powers to help National City's people, she did not want her name in the paper as her city's counterpart to Superman. In more than one of the meetings with her cousin, Clark had made plain the dangers of being outed as a superhero and she did not want to put targets on her back, her Mom's back, her sister's back and the backs of any of her friends. As she considered how she could best help people without outing Kara Danvers, her phone rang. It was Alex.

"Hey, Alex, what's up?"

"Getting ready to quit for the day?" her sister asked.

"Just about. Hang on a second, Miss Grant's coming."

But her employer only walked past and said, "I'm off for the day, Keira. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Miss Grant," Kara said. Then she returned to her phone call. "OK Alex, I'm free. Do you want to get together?"

"Sure, how about my place? I'm sorry for how I talked last night and we haven't done takeout in a while, so how about I get us some Chinese?"

"With pot-stickers?"

"With pot-stickers."

"Deal. See you in twenty minutes."

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Kara knocked on her sister's door. As Alex opened it, she said. "This isn't just a Danvers sisters night, I brought a friend along. He likes Chinese, too." She turned to the man behind her, "Kara, this is Hank Henshaw. He's also my boss. Hank, my sister Kara."

Hank Henshaw was a solid looking black man who conveyed the impression of an unstoppable force.

"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Henshaw."

"Actually, that's Mr. Henshaw. Glad to meet you."

"I thought all you lab types were PhD's?"

"Not all of us. I'm more of an administrator than a true lab type."

Alex interjected "I've been smelling that lovely takeout for a while. Now that you're here, Kara, we can eat."

They moved to the table, sat down and enjoyed the food. Alex had told Hank about Kara's job and for the first part of the meal he quizzed her about what it was like to work for a media CEO. After that, he asked about her other interests and she talked about her painting, where he listened politely, and her interests in history and civics, where they got into a few spirited discussions. She asked him about his work and hobbies but he was more a listener than a talker; he liked classical music but other than that his answers were sparse, but not evasive.

As the conversation went on, Kara realized that her sister and her boss had another agenda but she didn't know what it was. When they had finished cleaning up and sat down in the living room for an after dinner drink, she decided to ask about it.

"You know, Alex, it was a great dinner and it's nice to meet you Hank, but I felt like you were interviewing me for something. I hope that it's not a new job because I love the one I have."

Surprisingly, Alex replied. "Yes, Hank was interviewing you, and no, it's not for a new job. Rather he wants to find out how far he can trust you. I've told him that it wasn't necessary, that if I trust you, he should trust you, but he insisted."

"But why should Hank need to trust me?"

"I'll cut to the chase. First off, while I work in a lab, I've misled you and Mom on where I work. I don't work for National City University. Second, I don't always work in a lab. Third, I'm about to tell you some stuff that could put me in federal prison on a felony charge, specifically revealing classified information."

Hank spoke: "Alex, this was supposed to be a get-to-know-your-sister meeting. I haven't authorized you to tell Kara what we know."

Alex replied: "So throw me in jail afterward, but Kara has to know this stuff."

Hank thought for a moment, then spoke again: "So you force my hand: all right, but, Kara, before she goes on, I need you to understand something. The information your sister is about to give you could, in the wrong hands, jeopardize not only the safety and security of this country but the lives of everyone on this planet and I am not joking. It's information that is known to only the highest levels of the federal government and those charged with managing the situation. I'm one of those people and while I do have the authority to release to you the information that Alex wants to tell you, I need your commitment that you will tell this information to no other person ever before she goes any further. Can you promise me that, and will you mean it?"

Kara looked at her sister, stunned. Alex nodded soberly. "Yes Mr. Henshaw, I won't repeat a word of what you say. You can trust me that far. If you are a government official, that is. Do you have ID?"

Hank reached into his pocket, pulled out a billfold and handed it over. Kara opened it and saw a credential that identified Hank as the Director, Department of Extra-Normal Operations.

"I've never heard of this Department of Extra-Normal Operations."

"Not too many people have. Do you know what a black project is?"

"No."

"It's a project that is not publicly known and it is funded by covert means."

"So I can't check your story."

"Not right now, no. But if you agree provisionally to keep this to yourself, you will be presented with information over the next few days that will settle your doubts."

"OK, provisionally, I'll commit to keeping this conversation off the record. And I'll expect proof to follow, by the end of the week? And, if it does follow, then you have my word that I'll keep what you tell me to myself."

"Certainly by the end of this week. Thank you for your promise: all right Alex, you can go ahead."

Alex looked at her sister. "Kara, have you ever heard of NORAD?"

"No."

It's the North American Aerospace and Defense Command, a joint project of the US and Canadian Air Forces. Originally it was set up during the old cold war to spot incoming Russian missiles. It still does that, but since things are quieter now, NORAD has also moved into spotting incoming threats from space. Eleven years ago, actually just a few weeks after you came to us, they spotted a huge asteroid that was heading for earth. That much isn't secret, but the secrets start now. As the asteroid came closer, NORAD prepared to blow it up it with nuclear missiles since a direct hit by something that large would wipe out all life on earth. But they never launched the missiles because they discovered that the asteroid wasn't an asteroid. It was a large, million ton, spacecraft that was capable of making planet fall and it successfully made its landing on earth."

"So we have alien invaders or alien immigrants?"

"Not exactly. Now, because we knew it was coming, we sent a team to the touchdown site as soon as we could. We wanted to get Superman there too, but he was delayed helping people deal with a big tornado in Arkansas. And that delay was unfortunate because the aliens showed no interest in communicating. Instead, they killed all the members of the contact team and vanished. But when Superman and the backup team got there, they discovered that what we thought was a spaceship was really a space station that doubled as a prison. Some of the prisoners were still in their cells but about two hundred had escaped. We were able to salvage the prison records and we know who we are looking for."

"How did you find out that this space station was a prison?"

"Two reasons. First, design features; when you find cells, you know it's a prison. Second, Superman recognized the language. It was Kryptonese. He was also able to help our cyberneticists enter and use the prison's computer systems. It seems he has some kind of Kryptonian teaching device that taught him this stuff. The space station that came to earth was Krypton's maximum security prison. Apparently, it was called Fort Rozz."

Kara's face was ashen: "Why are you telling me this?" she whispered.

Alex replied, "Let me tell you a little bit more, and I think it will answer your question."

As Kara nodded, Alex continued, "Suppose you were the President and you got the news that an alien prison had landed, in Nevada, by the way, and that 200 or so inmates had escaped. And that some of them were Kryptonians and other aliens with extra-normal abilities. What would you do?"

"I'd put the FBI on the case backed up by Superman," Kara replied. "But judging from Hank's credential, I suspect the President created a new agency."

"That's close," said Alex, "but the DEO had already been created years before the initial sighting of the asteroid."

"Why did they do that?"

"Because Superman arrived. His arrival showed us that we weren't alone. Which meant we needed to prepare for managing interstellar visitors with less than amiable intentions. And then, three weeks before Fort Rozz landed, another much smaller spacecraft also arrived This one was met by Superman, but he flew off just before our contact team arrived. The spacecraft was clearly designed to transport people, but when we got there it was empty. The team's best guess was that Superman had taken the spacecraft's passenger or passengers somewhere else. And this is where Hank comes into the story. Go ahead boss, you were there."

Hank looked at Kara. "For many years, we could tell ourselves that Superman was a one-time only event. The only alien in the universe, from a world that had exploded, and he was a good guy, all about truth, justice, and the American way. This second spacecraft proved that there were other aliens out there and we knew nothing about them or their motivations: which is why we wanted to find out about this visitor. When Fort Rozz landed, we naturally asked Superman about the earlier incident. But he didn't say anything more than we had nothing to worry about."

"If you can't trust Superman, who can you trust?" asked Kara, trying to keep her voice light.

"True enough, we know that now. At that time, we didn't know him as well as we do today," said Hank. "Now there was one thing about this smaller spacecraft that Superman didn't realize. He got some dust or something else from it on his uniform that made it much easier for our radar to track him. Normally we can't track Superman when he goes below 500 feet and he knows this, so when he flew away from the landing site, he flew low. But this time, we could track him. And we did: he flew to Midvale, California.

Kara looked at Alex, stunned. Her eyes snapped back to Hank as he continued.

"So the DEO sent a team to Midvale. I was on the team. We looked for newcomers and focused our attention on everyone who had newly arrived in town no matter how young or how old they were. We traced all the new arrivals back to their previous locations and checked out their lives. We found nothing wrong, except for one young girl, recently adopted, whose backstory didn't check out. So we staked out her house. And one night we caught a break. I was on the stakeout when I saw two young girls flying overhead, back toward the house. They landed on the roof and went in. I managed to get a picture of the flying girls with my infra-red camera, which I still have. In fact, Alex has it in her purse."

"So what are you going to do now?"

"We don't have the legal authority to do anything, Kara. Oh, we've kept an eye on you and your family ever since that night, but that was just a watching brief to make sure your abilities didn't get you into any trouble. When your parents adopted you, they made you an American citizen. You've broken no laws, you've built a normal American life for yourself, you've done well in school, you've found a good job. But you also have Superman's powers and we know you used them the other night in a highly commendable fashion to save flight 237. Speaking for a moment just as Alex's boss, I'm personally very grateful; losing her would have made a huge hole in our org. chart."

"Now I'm sure both Alex and your mother have told you to forget about using your powers ever again. And that's your decision and I don't have any right to tell you what to do. But, as the Director of the DEO, I don't have the luxury of joining your Mom and Alex in their perfectly understandable wish to keep you safe. I know you could be an invaluable help to me and the DEO, not to mention the people of this part of the country if you plan on continuing to use your powers. And if that's what you want to do, or even if it's something you're only considering doing, I'd like you to come out to our headquarters tomorrow after work and see what we're up to, then you can decide if you want to help us. And I'll make you this offer. Even if you don't want to work with us, but do want to continue to use your Kryptonian abilities to help people, then, as my personal thanks for keeping this conversation under your hat, I'll make some resources available to you to help you shoot up the Superhero learning curve a bit faster than your cousin did. Remember, he had five years' practice as Superman before he had to face Kryptonian enemies. You almost certainly won't have that luxury. We have reason to think that most of the Fort Rozz escapees are concentrated within a 500-mile radius of National City, and if you keep active they'll know you are Kryptonian. And they've had ten years of practice using their powers, while you've only just started. Of course, if you are attacked by any of these folks, I'd hope that you'd keep me informed."

"Do you mind if I confirm your story with Superman?"

"No problem, go ahead."

"Thanks. Then, I'll give you this much, I'll come see your office. But it can't be tomorrow night, I've already got an evening meeting and I can't get out of it. How about the day after tomorrow?"

"That will be fine."

"Where's your office?"

"It's about a half-hour's drive outside the city. Alex can bring you out."

Then I'll see you around six or so unless my boss keeps me late. If that happens, I'll call Alex."

Hank spoke up. "Thank you, Kara, I'll see you then. Good night, Alex." With that, Hank moved to the door and left.

After the door shut, Kara looked at her sister.

"I've got a whole bunch of questions and I'll probably come up with more over the next two days. But there's one question I need to ask now before I go."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Hank was telling the truth about how he found me, right?"

"Right, I told him nothing. Here's the picture he took that night." She handed it to her sister who barely glanced at it before handing it back.

"Thank you. Not that it matters. This isn't on you: this is on me." Suddenly Kara seemed more vivid, more defined with a look in her eyes that Alex had never seen before. It was a momentary impression and Alex shook it off.

"What do you mean, it's on you? It's on me: I let you take us flying that night, even though I knew we shouldn't!"

"That's not it. I'll tell you next time. But for now, I've got a bunch of stuff to think over. Good night, Alex. I'll call you when I'm leaving work, the day after tomorrow. Let's meet up at my place."

"OK Kara, good night."

"Love you." A quick hug and Kara was gone.


	2. Agent Alexandra Danvers meets Supergirl

2\. Agent Alexandra Danvers meets Supergirl

Kara Danvers was not paranoid, except about one subject. And on that subject, she had reason to be paranoid. And the person she needed to talk to was even more paranoid than she was – with even more reason.

So Kara took a few precautions as she went home that night. As she rode down the elevator from her sister's apartment, she took her glasses off and looked intently at her purse. By the time she reached the ground floor she was wearing her glasses again. She walked to the subway which was, as usual for this time of day, not too busy. She went to the platform, waited, and when the train came in she was the last person to board, slipping in just as the doors closed. Three stops down the line, she slipped out of the train, again, moving just as the doors closed. She then crossed the platform to the other side, waited by the doors for the next train to come and go without getting on. When she got on the next train, she again made sure that she was the last boarder. Now that she knew that nobody was following her, she got off at the stop before CatCo Plaza and walked to Noonan's.

Kara was a daily regular at Noonan's in the morning, but she had come in on enough evenings that the night staff knew her.

"Hi Kara," said the hostess. "Do you want a table?"

"Hi Maxine, not this time. Can I borrow your land line for a second? My battery's dead."

"Sure." She handed Kara the phone.

Kara turned away and dialed a long distance number. When the recipient picked up her call, she murmured something that Maxine couldn't really hear, got a quick reply, hung up the phone, and handed it back.

"Thanks, Maxine."

"Short call. Hey, what was the language?"

"Oh, that was Swahili."

"Swahili?"

"Yes, I've got a friend who worked with Doctors Without Borders. He's taught me a bit of it, so I help him keep in practice. See you later."

"See you, Kara."

Kara left Noonan's and went straight home. She'd only said one sentence: "The sky is blue." But she knew her contact would be heading for National City as fast as he could, for the language she had used was not Swahili.

It was Kryptonese. And on Krypton, the sky had never been blue.

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Two days later, it was just after five, and Alex arrived at her sister's apartment to drive Kara out to the DEO.

She knocked, and when Kara opened the door, Alex knew instantly that her sister had made the decision that Alex and her mom desperately wanted her not to make. Alex barely noticed that Kara was wearing a female version of Superman's uniform, complete with cape and stylized S, but with a skirt and tights instead of leggings. What told her the bad news was Kara's eyes: normally soft and gentle, Kara's eyes were now strong, certain, and most of all, committed.

Alex couldn't look: all she could do was try not to weep. Kara brought her inside and closed the door.

"What's wrong, Alex?"

"I know I can't stop you, but I love you and I hate to see you to do this: you could get hurt or killed."

"Clark has been doing this stuff for fifteen years and he's still fine. And if you're not spending all your time at the DEO inside your lab, than you might get hurt or worse, no?"

"Can you please tell me why you are going ahead? I thought if I could let you know what you could be up against, you'd see reason. Catching a Fort Rozz criminal is not like catching a plane. These guys are hard, fast, merciless killers. I know, I've been on the teams that have gone up against them."

"And Clark has knocked a few of them on their asses. If he can do it, there's no reason I can't do it. Besides, it's the Fort Rozz aliens who force my hand: I can't let them hurt this world as they hurt Krypton. You see, I knew about Fort Rozz long before Hank mentioned it."

"How could you know that?"

"That time we talked about my family on Krypton, I told you guys that my Mom was a judge. What I didn't tell you is that she sent a number of prisoners to Fort Rozz. I even saw her do it once. It was the Kryptonese equivalent of 'Take your kid to work day.' And now they've escaped. I know what Mom would think about that: more important, I know what she would do about it if she were here. Mom came from an unbroken fifteen-century-line of judges or police and she would move heaven and earth to recapture those people. Mom's not here, but I am: as the Eldest and the Last Daughter of the House of El, I inherit her obligations. And I'm going to fulfill them, so Mom can rest in peace in Rao's light."

Alex knew when she was beaten.

"Will you tell this to Eliza? She'll be heartbroken, and if I tell her, she'll blame me no matter what I say."

"Of course. I wouldn't put that on you. I've told her that I'm heading for Midvale this weekend.

"She wants to see me, too. I'll drive you up if you'll do me a favor?" Her sister nodded. "Don't tell Mom I work for the DEO. Just say that Hank approached you."

"Sure, but maybe we should get on our way to your office."

"Yes, you're right; I'll wait while you change."

"I'm not changing. I'll go like this."

"Why?"

"Whatever I do after this, I need to keep Kara Danvers hidden. And the best way to do that is to play up Superman's California cousin for all she's worth. So I'm Supergirl. The story will be that Hank knew who Superman's California cousin was all along. He put out an SOS to her after the plane save and he assigned you to guide me out today, because you had previously met me at university under my other name and we're friends. If a name is needed for me at the DEO we use Kara Zor-El and we don't use any more than Ms. Zor-El unless absolutely necessary."

"OK, but where did you get that outfit?"

Kara thought it best not to mention Winn right now. "I've been thinking about doing this for a while and some online costume shops have good selections. I've also customized it a bit so it shouldn't be traceable. If I fly you out, can you guide me from the air? Supergirl never goes anywhere by ground."

"Yes I can guide you, but is wise to fly from here? Can anybody see you leave this place?"

"Not if we leave from a back window and I fly really quickly. It's a windowless alley. But you'll need to call your boss, and let him know what we're doing."

Alex called Hank and told him how Kara wanted him to introduce herself to the DEO staff and Hank agreed to keep Kara's earth name, and her relationship with Alex, confidential. When she hung up the phone, Kara spoke.

"Since we have to go really fast, you'd best climb up on my back in a piggyback carry. Then close your eyes until I tell you to open them."

Alex followed her sister's instructions. Kara floated up a few feet, changed her angle to horizontal, aimed herself at the open window, flew out, and turned up so fast that Alex found it hard to hold on.

"You can open your eyes now," said Kara and Alex looked down to see that her sister was rocketing upwards faster than a fighter jet.

"Wow! No wonder you kept asking me to come fly with you."

"It is fun. Now which way do we go?"

"Follow highway 80 over the bridge to Oak Bay. From there we take 580 to 24 and turn north to Orillia. A few miles past Orillia, there's an unmarked side road. I've got it programmed on my GPS app so I'll call the turns and let you know when we get there."

"Right. Meanwhile, I've got a few questions. Tell me about the DEO. How is it organized?"

"We're split into headquarters and three satellite offices. Headquarters has eight 10 person teams. Three of them rotate through active strike team duty on eight hour shifts, another three rotate the same way on watch duty. Every month the teams switch assignments and two teams go on vacation, which is to say two weeks intense physical and mental training and two weeks vacation. Watch duty monitors all news organizations in the US and allied countries. They track possible alien activities and do the preliminary research on potential countermeasures. The strike teams are the guys who get the job done: of the two hundred or so Fort Rozz escapees, we've captured 73 to date. Headquarters also has a small support division that includes my lab, a doctor with experience in alien physiology and a few maintenance and admin people, a small prisoner guard force, plus Hank as Director and a Deputy, currently vacant, due to the previous incumbent being rendered permanently unfit for duty when a takedown went wrong. The satellite offices are directed from the Headquarters watch group. Each office has four strike teams on site under an Assistant Director and they are in Metropolis, Gotham and Jackson, Mississippi. Like us, each team is based at a private airfield outside their cities so they can move quickly to other locations if trouble happens there. That's 580 over there."

Supergirl banked into a turn.

"You mentioned that you've captured 73 Fort Rozz escapees. Were any of them Kryptonians?"

"Yes, most of them."

"How can you do that? I thought we were invulnerable to anything on this planet."

"You are invulnerable to anything that naturally occurs here. But when Superman's California cousin arrived, the DEO's first research assignment was to find something that could take out Superman or his cousin if they ever needed to. Somebody in that first staff group, brilliant guy, knew Superman and had done a lot of work with him on his physiology, and he created a substance called Kryptonite which takes away Superman's powers. Combine a Kryptonite tipped needle and a dart filled with liquid K and we can knock out Superman – or you."

"I hope nobody else knows about that. Although it's good to know if either Clark or I go off the rails."

"We've done our best to keep it quiet."

"Tell me about Hank. What's he like as a boss?"

"He's a strong leader, he demands top performance and he gets it, simply by inspiring his people to be better than they think they can be. He's very thorough in his planning and he's a real bear in training. He always says 'The more you sweat in training, the less you'll die in combat.' Our strike teams are trained to SEAL team level, and that's the hardest training in the US military. He's particularly good at throwing surprise scenarios at us. And that's important because our targets are aliens: they are more likely to surprise us by doing something unexpected than the normal people that our military face off against. And that ability to respond quickly to the unexpected is something you'll need to get training in. There's the turn for 24."

Again Supergirl banked into the turn as she moved to follow the new road.

"What do you mean about training to respond quickly?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"And what exactly do you do when you're out of the lab?"

"I lead the Gamma strike team. And I'm also unofficially acting as Hank's Deputy until Washington assigns a permanent replacement."

"How did you get that job?"

"Hank recruited me during college, originally to do the lab work. But because us lab types sometimes have to go into an active battle scene, we take basic combat training, and I set the record mark for that course. So Hank's Deputy asked me if I wanted to go part time on a strike team. I said yes. After a year's training and eight months in the field, I was Assistant Team Leader, and when the Team Leader got promoted to Deputy Director, he recommended me for the slot. Since then, Gamma's been the top performing team in the National City office and for the last five months I've planned and led all the major takedowns, while supervising the labs and doing my own work when my team goes on watch rotation. But enough about me. We've just passed Orillia and there's the side road you need to follow. When you see two small buildings in the middle of the field at the road's end, that's where Air Supergirl touches down."


	3. The DEO Meets Supergirl

The DEO Meets Supergirl

Agent Susan Vasquez was beginning to be concerned. The long time Alpha team leader was the senior team leader in the National City office and she was not easily perturbed. But her boss had sat in his office for the past two days, leaving the site office operations in the hands of the acting Deputy, her colleague and friend, Alex Danvers. While Director Henshaw had previously taken what he called 'retreats' from time to time, he had always told his senior team leaders why he was doing it.

This time he hadn't said a word, and Susan Vasquez wondered what her boss could be up to as she walked to the break room to get her dinner. She was just opening the refrigerator when the internal PA system dinged the 'Attention all hands' signal and she heard the Director's voice.

"Now hear this. All onsite strike and watch team members report immediately to the operations cave."

Before he had finished, Vasquez was walking quickly down the corridor. Her dinner could wait.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As she reached the operations cave, Vasquez saw three people come into the cave from the elevator corridor on the other side of the room. Two of them she knew; the Director and Agent Alex Danvers were walking on either side of a young blonde woman dressed in a female version of Superman's costume, complete to the cape and stylized S. Before they were a quarter of the way into the room, every eye was riveted on the girl in red and blue.

"So Superman's California cousin has finally decided to step up to the plate." Vasquez thought.

When Director Henshaw reached the central desk, he stopped. "Good evening, this is a Top Secret, compartmented briefing, code name Supergirl. As you will have noticed, we have a visitor today. I'd like to introduce you to Superman's cousin, Supergirl, who will be working with us as a consultant. As some of you may have guessed, she arrived on earth twelve years ago in the spaceship that is now displayed over there. She was met by Superman on arrival, and he arranged for her to be adopted by a family he knew. Both Superman and her family advised her to conceal her powers in favor of living a normal American life, which is what she's been doing until very recently. But I had identified our guest shortly after her arrival, and have maintained a watching brief on her and her family ever since. When she decided to use her powers to save flight 237 last week, I decided to reach out to her, to ask if she was planning to do anything like that again. She told me that she will be coming out publicly in the near future, doing for National City what Superman has done so well for Metropolis. Because of that decision, I decided to let her know something about our operation here and about our Fort Rozz problems, and I also promised her some training assistance to help her climb the superhero learning curve a bit faster than Superman did, in return for helping us out when we need her. So don't be surprised if you see her around, or get tasked to help her in a training exercise. We hope she'll be able to work in with us within a few weeks. I won't tell you the name she's been using here, but her Kryptonian name is Ms. Zor-El."

Supergirl picked up her cue. "Thanks for the introduction, Director Henshaw. I hope to get to know you all in the next few weeks. I know I'm new to this, but I promise you I'll do my best to live up to Superman's example."

The director finished the meeting: "And now, teams, you are dismissed to regular watch stations. Supergirl, if you and Agent Danvers will come to my office?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As they entered the office, Hank closed the door and gestured them to chairs.

"Thank you for coming, Kara. As I said before, we can use your help."

"You're welcome. I talked to Superman the other day. He spoke highly of you, confirmed your story and sent his regards. And, like me, he was curious about what training support you might be able to offer a Kryptonian."

"In our discussion the other night, I told you that about 200 Fort Rozz prisoners had escaped before the backup team was able to get there. We've since recaptured 73 of them. You might be wondering how we did that since most of them are Kryptonians."

"Alex and I were talking about that on the way here. She mentioned that you'd recaptured some of them, and I asked her how you'd done it. She told me about the kryptonite you use. That's good to know if I go off the rails."

"Although kryptonite is a useful tool, it isn't our biggest advantage." Hank replied, "That advantage is a power all of us have, but most of us don't use very well. And it's something we can train for. If we are better at it than the Kryptonians we're trying to capture, we can mitigate the effect of their powers. And it helps that most of them are criminals and don't give any attention to this ability."

"What is it?" Kara asked.

"Thinking better. We systematically train our people to improve our abilities to observe, orient, decide and act. The process is called the OODA loop. We aim to improve our peoples OODA performance by improving both the quality and the speed of their decisions. Since the Fort Rozz criminals' powers are controlled by their minds, if we can work through the OODA loop faster than they do, it doesn't matter what other abilities they have, they can't react to what we're doing to them in time for it to matter."

"Also, the DEO requires rigorous physical and psychological testing of all its operatives. Relying on a superhero can be a liability in the field unless we know that you are in full control of your powers, your stamina, strength, and speed at all times. And since teamwork gives us a major advantage when we fight individual aliens, you'll need to know how we work so you can fit in with us when we work together."

"Now I've spent the last couple of days designing a training program for you. If you'll give me each of your Saturdays for the next three months, I'll run you through a training program that will speed up your OODA decision making process to our levels. At the same time, it will help you get a better feel for when and when not to use your powers and also which powers to use in any given situation. Does this sound workable for you?"

"Sure. But I can't come next Saturday. Alex and I have to go out of town. Is it OK if I come the week after?"

"No problem. Where are you going."

"To see our Mom. She wants to see Alex, to make sure she's OK" Kara replied.

I'll give Alex the first week's assignments in case you get a chance to work out. But to start with, we need to get a baseline of where you are right now. So, if you both will come with me?"

They walked out of the office and down a corridor. Hank put his hand on a plate by a door and it opened into an octagonal room with a raised platform in the middle.

"I'd like to begin by having our training officer get a sense of where you are in unarmed combat." Hank said, as he turned and walked out the door.

"Training officer, who's that?" Kara wondered as she followed her sister up the steps to the platform.

"Me," Alex replied as she turned and punched her sister in the jaw.

Taken by surprise, Kara fell full length. When she opened her eyes the room was bathed in a sickly green glare. "How did you do that?" she asked.

"Kryptonite emitters," Alex replied. "They're only at eighteen percent. Not enough to permanently harm you, but enough to weaken you and make this a fair fight. Now come at me, and you don't have to hold anything back."

For a moment Kara watched her sister. Then she tried to move in a circle around Alex who turned with her. Then she charged. Her sister blocked her and flipped her.

Alex said, "Again," as Kara got up.

The sisters went through the same ballet, three more times. The first two times, Alex used a different move to take Kara by surprise. The third time she let Kara start to throw a punch but countered it before it landed and sent her sister to the floor.

"Your windup leaves you open for a counter attack," she commented. As Supergirl got up, Alex looked away. Kara rushed her, and found herself flipped again.

"You are relying on your strength without technique. When you are facing a superior opponent you need to use your strength against them."

Kara nodded and the ballet went on until Alex repeated one of her moves. To her shock, Kara grabbed her arm, threw her down and pinned her.

"How did you know to do that?" Alex asked.

"Wrestling team. Eliza wouldn't let me compete but she did allow me to act as manager. And if I see something done once, I can do it myself."

The sisters continued sparring for the next twenty minutes before Alex called time. At the end Kara, was exhausted and depressed. She'd only been able to counter her sister's moves on less than five occasions.

"Thanks," said Kara. "That was rough. Maybe I'm not DEO material after all. I think I know why my cousin prefers to work alone."

"You're not that bad, you know."

Kara stared at her sister.

"I've never been taken down in an introductory lesson by someone who's never fought before. And I noticed that every time I used a new move I'd get by your guard, but every time I repeated a move, you'd have a counter ready. That's unprecedented for a beginner. Don't give up on yourself quite so fast. I think you'll do well."

"You're not just saying that to buck me up, are you?"

"No," said Alex as Hank walked back into the room.

"So how did your sister do?"

"Quite well actually. I don't think we'll have any problems getting her up to speed. She didn't know a single move to start with, but after she'd seen a move once, she was able to counter it, sometimes quite effectively."

"That's good. Then we'll see you a week next Saturday, Ms. Zor-El?"

"That's right," replied Kara.


	4. Dr Eliza Danvers Meets Supergirl

Dr. Eliza Danvers, Research Professor Emerita of Biochemistry and Biomedical Engineering at Redwood University, Midvale was a very busy woman. Her planned retirement had somehow become a new job with not only the same full student loads for the courses she had taught when she was a mere Professor, but she also had to prepare papers for the many more conference presentations that she'd committed to before she'd "retired." So she was much too busy to make a habit of watching the evening news.

Not that Eliza minded keeping busy, especially now that both her daughters were working in National City, a two-hour plane ride south. She had a deep passion for her work and it kept her from brooding over her dead husband and empty nest. But tonight, for some reason, she turned on the TV to the CBS affiliate, just in time to hear the news of how flight 237 to Geneva had been saved by an unknown guardian angel. She sat transfixed. She had known that her eldest daughter was flying to Geneva that evening, and the news that all the passengers were safe was a great relief. But she sat, pale and still, watching until the late news at midnight repeated the story with no additional details. At that point, after considerable thought, she went to bed.

Although she wanted nothing more than to travel to National City immediately, Eliza knew she couldn't take any chances. So she called her eldest daughter early the next morning.

"Hello, Alex. How are you? Since you're still here, I guessed right; you were on flight 237?"

"Yes, I was. And I'm a little tired but glad to be alive."

"I'm glad too. Are you going to reschedule your flight?"

"No, by the time I can get there, the meetings I was supposed to attend will be over, so there's no point."

"Well, if you're going to be still around, how'd you like to come home for the weekend? I haven't seen either you or Kara in ages. I was back in Isaiah's dell the other day and the blueberries are beautiful. I've been wanting an excuse to bake a blueberry pie."

A couple of hundred miles to the south, Alexandra Danvers frowned. Even though neither woman liked talking on the phone and kept phone calls as short as possible, this call was not going as she had expected. She certainly hadn't expected her mother to cajole a visit by bribing her with her favorite dessert.

"Sure I'll come. I can use the break. I'll be there Friday around six. Should I bring Kara with me?"

"That would be great. Do you want me to call and invite her?"

"Sure, Mom."

"Then love you and bye for now."

"Love you, bye." And Alex hung up the phone, wondering why her mother had not asked anything about the mystery woman who had saved her plane. She remembered a couple of lines from her late father's favorite detective story and muttered to herself, "'That was the curious incident."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

It was just about noon on Friday at CatCo Worldwide Media. As CEO Cat Grant left her office on a way to a lunch meeting, her assistant stopped her.

"Excuse me a moment, Miss Grant, but will you be coming back to the office this afternoon after your meeting?"

"I usually do, Keira. Why do you ask?"

"Do you mind if I take this afternoon off as a vacation day? My sister is driving up to see our Mom for the weekend and I'd like to go with her. We haven't seen Mom for months because she lives in Midvale, about four hours drive up the coast, and we'd like to get there around dinner time if we can. Which means we'd have to leave town around two. I can leave later if you really need me to stay, but the bus that leaves at 5:45 is the one that stops in every town on the way. It doesn't get to Midvale until midnight, and I'd rather avoid taking it if I don't have to. Since the last couple of hours on Fridays are usually our quietest times, I suspect you won't miss me too much. I'll come in early on Monday, before you get here, to get caught up on anything you leave for me."

"All right, Kiera. Go enjoy your long weekend." And Miss Grant walked out to her lunch.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Alex picked up her sister at CatCo Plaza's main entrance just after two o'clock.

"Good to see you. So the dragon lady gave you the afternoon off? I'm surprised. Let's put your suitcase in the trunk."

"Miss Grant's not that bad. Demanding, yes, but it's always in the service of better news."

As the two women left National City behind them, Alex spoke up. "Did you notice anything odd when Mom called you this week?"

"Not really," her sister replied. Why do you ask?"

"The dog did nothing in the night-time," Alex responded without thinking as she had to swerve to avoid a careless driver who suddenly cut into their lane.

"Huh, what do you mean by that?"

Alex knew why she was puzzled, but she didn't want to worry her sister unnecessarily if it turned out she was wrong. So she simply smiled and said, "Never mind, Kara. It's something I can ask her about when we get there. It's nothing serious."

As the drive went on, Alex became increasingly tense. By the time they were on the outskirts of Midvale, she was as taut as her sister had ever seen her.

"You know, Alex," Kara remarked, "Mom can't blame you for being on a plane where the engines failed."

"Maybe not, but she's going to blame me for letting you provide help to the pilots."

"That's a bit of a reach, even for her."

"You'll see."

By the time the car had pulled up to the old house on the beach that six generations of the Danvers family had called home, Kara had managed to calm her sister down. As they got their bags from the trunk, the elemental force of nature that was Eliza Danvers grabbed them both in a deep bear hug. Her grip was still as strong as ever.

"Oh, Alex, Kara, I'm so glad to see you both. It's been too long. I should have come down to National City, but my schedule here is so tight this term."

"It's good to see you, Eliza," "It's good to be home, Mom," said her daughters in reply.

"Come on in, dinner's on the table."

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

The first two members of the Danvers family in the Midvale area were brothers Isaiah and Hezekiah who arrived in the mid-1800's. Isaiah, a farmer, staked a good sized farm a few miles out of town on the county road to the north east. Hezekiah, a dry goods merchant took over a large beachfront lot to the north of the town. The two lots were separated by a two-mile path through the woods with a meadow and a lake in the middle, and, because the land on both sides was rocky and unusable, the two branches of the Danvers family effectively controlled the land in between their lots even though they didn't own it. When Isaiah's son died childless, his cousin Obediah Danvers bought the farm from his widow and put it out to rent, an arrangement that was still continuing when Jeremiah Danvers came into his inheritance on his father's death many years later. In all those years, none of the farm's tenants had ever explored the woods behind the property line and so the meadow that Isaiah had found and his family named after him, remained a Danvers family secret. The lake was clear and deep, running out by a creek to the ocean, the meadow was flat, and best of all, there were several prolific blueberry bushes. Over the years, the Danvers men had made some improvements to the meadow. Obediah had cut down a tree and made a picnic bench and table by the lake and Jeremiah had built a small shelter.

Kara Danvers claimed that her foster mother's chocolate pecan pie was the best dessert anywhere, but she freely admitted that blueberry pie, especially when the blueberries came from Isaiah's dell, ran it a close second. So when she walked into the kitchen early that Saturday morning and saw Eliza making sandwiches and packing them in a knapsack while her sister was making breakfast, she had a good idea of what was up.

"Are we going to Isaiah's dell to pick blueberries?" she asked happily.

"Yes," Eliza replied.

Kara's mouth turned up in a grin as she looked at her sister, but Alex's eyes were still puzzled.

00000000000000000000

After breakfast, the three women left the farmhouse and followed the familiar path into the woods. The walk gave Alex and Kara plenty of time to think, and they needed it. Last night had not gone as either of them had expected. While Eliza had asked Alex to describe how her flight had ended and how she had got to shore, she hadn't so much as mentioned the flying woman who had saved the plane from crashing. Yet both girls knew that their mother must have heard at least some version of that part of the story. Kara wasn't too worried, thinking that Eliza hadn't chewed her out for using her powers because she was grateful that she had saved Alex' life. Alex, although relieved that she didn't have to defend herself, grew increasingly puzzled as her mother continued to make no mention of the topic. She was once again worrying over the subject as they walked out into the meadow where six generations of the Danvers family had picked blueberries, but the sight of the laden berry bushes took her mind off her concern.

"OK, girls," Eliza said, "I've got twelve pails, we'll pick four each. And there are so many berries I think we can eat two for every ten picked."

The three women set to with a will, and by twelve-thirty every pail was full. They sat down at the picnic bench to have their lunch.

After they finished, Eliza looked at them.

"Alex, you look puzzled."

"I am, Mom," her daughter replied.

"Is it because I didn't ask you for more details about your flight? I did see the newspapers, in case you are wondering."

"'The dog did nothing in the night-time.' 'That was the curious incident.' Yes, I've been expecting you to ask ever since our phone call."

"I'm not surprised. You and Jeremiah did love that story." Eliza then leaned over the table and dropped her voice to a murmur. "Kara, would you mind looking around without your glasses and making sure there's nobody within earshot. I've something to tell you both that must not be overheard."

Her Kryptonian foster daughter quickly looked around, put her glasses back on and said. "We're the only humans within a two-mile radius. If anybody is hearing us it's by means of a drone or a bug and I don't see anything that shouldn't be in our clothes. Nor do I see any drones in the sky."

"Thank you, Kara. Not just for this, but for saving Alex' life the other day."

"You're not mad?"

"I could never be mad that you used your powers to save Alex. But it brings up a point that I should have talked to you about earlier.

"That prohibition on using your powers that Jeremiah and I drummed into your head? It was for your own protection. We wanted you to grow up and learn what a normal human life was like, so you'd be able to fit in when you wanted to. We also knew that it would be a disaster for you if knowledge of who you are and what you are got out into the world before you could fit in. But you are an adult now and that changes things. From now on, you make your own choices and especially you make the choices about when and how you use your powers."

"Alex, I need you to hear what I just said. From now on Kara makes her own choices. But I can't just say that without thanking you for all the effort, and all the care you have given Kara over these years. When she arrived, your father and I needed your help to look after her. And through the years you have done that and far more than we ever thought you'd have to. When we lost Jeremiah, I needed your help even more. You knew it, and you stepped up and met the challenge. In fact, I can't think of a single challenge in your life that you have not handled well. I have pushed you very hard, Alex and, in some ways, I regret that. I was often too tired for you, too focused on either my work or on Kara's special needs to give my full attention to you. But I am so proud of you, don't think for a moment that I'm not."

"But I do have a couple of other things to say to Kara and you should hear them too."

"Kara, knowing you, you will find other planes and other Alexes in your future. And being the girl you are, you will want to help them. So feel free to do that. But there's something you should know: just because I've stopped commanding you not to use your powers doesn't mean that I don't have any advice for you if you do use them. I've been around this planet for years longer than you have. I know it better and I've made a whole bunch of mistakes living here and I may have gained some wisdom from that experience. I may know some things you need to know so that you can use your powers more wisely. And the first thing you need to know is this: not everybody will be on your side even though they see you doing good."

"What do you mean?"

"I just wish that I had had this little talk with you earlier. Because if I had, you might not have opened the can of worms that you did open by not keeping away from the plane afterward, which let you be photographed."

"That wouldn't have done any good, Mom," Alex commented. "There were witnesses on the bridge who saw Kara holding up the plane, even though they didn't get photographs."

"I hadn't known that," Eliza replied. "But either way, the situation is this. People know there's a mystery flying woman out there, somewhere. And I have to tell you that there are some people out there who will have a very good idea of who that woman is and they are, at best, not entirely friendly towards you."

Both of her daughters sat bolt upright at this statement. "Who are they?" asked Kara.

"Who they are is a secret department of the federal government called the Department of Extra-Normal Operations or the DEO for short. They have been around ever since Superman began his work and their job is to prepare to fight any aliens who turn up on this planet with hostile intentions. At the very least you should be ready to meet them, because they will certainly want to meet you, even work with you."

"How do you know about them?" Alex cut in, eyes intent.

"Because they had somehow followed Superman to Midvale the day Kara arrived on earth. Then they sent agents to check out every new arrival in the town. And those agents were still here the night that you let Kara take you flying and they saw the two of you come back home. The only reason Kara didn't grow up in a lab somewhere as a prisoner of the government is that Jeremiah not only put his knowledge of Superman at the DEO's disposal, he quit his job at Redwoods and went to work for them full time. And he was on an assignment for them when he was killed. They told me he died in a plane crash, but I don't trust them. And I really don't trust the chief of the agents who tried to take you away that night. He was a man named Hank Henshaw."

"Thank you, Eliza," said Kara as Alex turned pale. "At least I'm forewarned. I think I'd better talk to Clark about this."

"That might be a very good idea," her foster mother agreed. "But let me say this again. You're not a child now. You make and live with your own decisions. But I am proud, not to mention grateful that you decided to help flight 237 the other night. That was the act of a true hero, on a par with your cousin. But please, be careful. I've already lost Jeremiah. I don't want to lose you, too."

Kara Danvers looked at the foster mother who had given her so much and heard Eliza's heart in her voice.

"Thanks for the warning. I'll be as careful as I can, Mom."

It was the first time Kara had ever used the term.

"Then that's all we can ask."


End file.
